Bull 13 1/2 hour cook

[ToeJam]

Purchased a pork butt which weighed about 10 lbs. from my local grocery store and the evening before the cook, I trimmed it then liberally applied my fav rub to set in overnight. Saturday morning, I went out and fired up the rt700, filled the hopper with lumberjack hickory pellets, and waited for the smoker to come up to temp. During this time of getting things ready, I took the out of the fridge and had it on the granite counter which if you didn't already know is great for thawing. Ok, so the smoker is now ready, so I put the butt on at 250F, inserted one of the temp probes from my ThermoPro TP20 and began the cook at 9am. Spritzed with 50/50 Apple juice and cider vinegar about every hour or so, trying not to keep the lid open any longer than I could. Temps were holding just fine according to the read out on the smoker. After several hours, the bark was set and looking great. I figured the cook should've taken maybe 8-9 hours. At around hour 6, internal temp of the butt was only at 160 or so, and it looked like this was going to be a marathon cook so I bumped up the temp to 275f. At no time did the cook appear to go into a "stall" as temps were continuously rising, albeit slowly, plus, I wanted to try without wrapping since the temps weren't stalling. At around hour 9, I bumped up the cooking temp to 300f and after 13 1/2 hours, I finally got a internal temp of 205f. I then pulled it off the smoker, placed in a foil pan and covered it with aluminum foil to rest. It turned out fantastic, but would never have guessed it would've taken that long. I reckon the old saying is true - "when it's done, it's done".

 

[Wslayer]

That's not out of the realm at all. I normally figure at "least" 12 hrs for a butt that size. Higher temps don't hurt at all either.

 

[FastEddie]

Sounds like a great midnight snack
I need to cook another Butt. It's been a while.

 

[chadinsc]

i do mine a 225 and never adjust temp. it always take 1.75hr per lb. i have been curious about doing a hotter cook. they seem to be popular and people get good results. i think pellet grills take longer than an offset because there is no infrared heat coming from the coals that are often in line of sight of the meat. just a guess though

 

[kstone113]

I like to cook pork butts on my Bull on low for a few hours(extra smoke) and then go to 225 and eventually raise up the temp to 250 and perhaps even 275. But I plan around 24 hours for my pork butts. I would say 13 hours is fast in my opinion *for a pellet grill*. If you have an offset or different kind of cooker, they do finish in 10 to 12 hours but one thing I've learned is pellet grills just take longer to cook unless you jack up the temp and then you lose the smoke.

 

[NinoRT700]

Ive yet to do a butt on my bull but i was doing them in my electric one at 250* and wrapping at 165 and would normally be 8-10hrs
I’m hoping to do one on the bull soon the same way and hopefully get same times that i was

 

[thedudeabides]

Because of the convection of a pellet compared to an offset, I am going lower on temps than what I do in offset. Every piece of meat will stall differently, but if you wrapped and put at 300, that’s a good way to break through it!

 

[Smoker Bill]

I got tired of the stress trying to guess the timing so I always put butts on the night before around 11pm at ~180 (low). Wake up the next morning and turn to 225 or 250 (depending on meal time), pull at 203 and rest in the cooler until ready to serve. I'm always "on-time" and can enjoy my peeps without trying to hurry a cook.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

I've had good luck speeding up the cook from the 160F internal area by wrapping and cranking up the temps. I've cut many hours off the cook this way. The bark is definitely softer when wrapping. So, if bark is your primary objective, don't wrap.

The last couple shoulders I did together, one unwrapped all the way and the other wrapped at the stall. The unwrapped butt took 4 hours longer and was more dry, but had good bark. The wrapped butt was moist and had good flavor, but bark was soft.

 

[SweaT-rex]

I have found that once a pork butt cooks beyond 190 degrees, you really don't gain anything.

 

[Newb]

I did an 18 hour cook starting at 9pm the previous evening, last 2 hours in a covered foil pan. 225 degrees all the way, and i used a smoke tube. I pulled it at 205 degrees IT. A few hours in the cooler and then ready for dinner. It was a 10+ lb shoulder.

 

[wv5b]

Purchased a pork butt which weighed about 10 lbs. from my local grocery store and the evening before the cook, I trimmed it then liberally applied my fav rub to set in overnight. Saturday morning, I went out and fired up the rt700, filled the hopper with lumberjack hickory pellets, and waited for the smoker to come up to temp. During this time of getting things ready, I took the out of the fridge and had it on the granite counter which if you didn't already know is great for thawing. Ok, so the smoker is now ready, so I put the butt on at 250F, inserted one of the temp probes from my ThermoPro TP20 and began the cook at 9am. Spritzed with 50/50 Apple juice and cider vinegar about every hour or so, trying not to keep the lid open any longer than I could. Temps were holding just fine according to the read out on the smoker. After several hours, the bark was set and looking great. I figured the cook should've taken maybe 8-9 hours. At around hour 6, internal temp of the butt was only at 160 or so, and it looked like this was going to be a marathon cook so I bumped up the temp to 275f. At no time did the cook appear to go into a "stall" as temps were continuously rising, albeit slowly, plus, I wanted to try without wrapping since the temps weren't stalling. At around hour 9, I bumped up the cooking temp to 300f and after 13 1/2 hours, I finally got a internal temp of 205f. I then pulled it off the smoker, placed in a foil pan and covered it with aluminum foil to rest. It turned out fantastic, but would never have guessed it would've taken that long. I reckon the old saying is true - "when it's done, it's done".

10lb is a very large pork butt. Must have been a pork shoulder. I cook the same temp as Franklin BBQ at 275F.

 

[DoWorkHat]

That’s a fast cook.

 

[C. Keeper]

10lb is a very large pork butt. Must have been a pork shoulder. I cook the same temp as Franklin BBQ at 275F.

Some folks like BIG butts